Their Next Step
by uniqueinkblots
Summary: Justin shedding light on why he didn't go to college? Alex actually expressing interest in further studies? The two siblings have a little chat about their respective futures. Oneshot that takes place after Episode: Wizards vs. Asteroid.


**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Wizards of Waverly Place. Shocking. :)

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><p>Alex walked home from Tribeca Prep, her smile radiant. She was so ecstatic over graduating, that she didn't even mind the bewildered stares encountered on every street corner. She was wearing a very conspicuous blue gown and cap, after all.<p>

Alex knew it all along. Mr. Laritate had a soft spot for her the entire time. He always had…otherwise she definitely would have been expelled by now, psh. She briefly wondered what would have happened if the remaining chunk of asteroid hadn't blown up all the permanent records. She opened the key to the apartment and scoffed. "I would have thought of something for sure."

"You thinking of something?" Justin echoed. He sat with his feet propped on the coffee table, laptop in tow. "Sounds dangerous," he smirked without looking up.

"Hey," Alex greeted. "I was talking about graduating. I would have thought of a plan to graduate," she clarified, sinking onto the opposite end of the couch.

Justin finally looked up, faintly surprised. "I didn't realize finishing high school was so important to you."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Of course it's important to me! Graduating high school, means going to college!"

Justin snorted. "You? Going to college?" He tilted his head and gave her a mocking smile. "I find that hard to believe."

She glowered and stretched her leg out to kick him, giggling when he nearly dropped his computer. "I'm not a delinquent, you know. Going to college would mean getting away from all of you, and _that _would be kind of nice."

Justin leaned over to pull a piece a paper out of a folder laying on the coffee table. He handed it to her with a wistful smile. "I remember saying something similar."

Alex groaned. "I don't wanna read this!" She skimmed the paper momentarily and then looked up stunned. It was the letter of recommendation that she and Max had drafted so long ago, from when Justin had directed the school play. "You actually kept this?"

"It was in my college file!" He defended, taking it back and carefully returning it to the folder.

"Which you're looking at because…?" Alex scooted closer to get a view of his screen. "Massachusetts Institute of Technology," she read. "You want to go to MIT?"

Justin re-angled himself so she couldn't see the webpage. "It's good for engineering."

"And you're going there...?" Alex prompted.

"Eventually," Justin shrugged. "Hopefully," he added.

"Please, dork." Alex said. "With your grades, they'll be practically begging you to attend," she assured. Presently, she bit her lip and sighed. She had always wanted to ask him…she hadn't ever bothered because she thought it might be a delicate subject. This was her chance. "Why didn't you go? Why aren't you already there?" Alex asked softly. "College was your dream, wasn't it? The notebook paper with the skinny lines or whatever…" she trailed off.

Justin closed the laptop and stared at her, no traces of bitterness evident. "Well technically, I've completed my undergrad at NYU. Which is nationally ranked at 33. Not too bad, Alex," he teased.

"Schools within the state are cheaper," she admitted. "Plus, you got a full scholarship," she giggled.

Justin surprised her by laughing along. "Yeah, so MIT would be great for my masters. And what if I switch from robotic engineering and really do decide to be a doctor? There's plenty of education left for me to tackle."

Alex shook her head in disbelief. "Why put yourself through so much school?"

"At first, time off from schoolwork was nice," he replied. "But so much time just sitting around the house…I don't know how you do it."

"You were teaching a class for the longest time, you were never sitting around!" Alex protested. "And _I _have been training for the competition. A year off will do me good."

Justin shrugged, unconvinced. "Is that really what you want though?" Sure, his sister was outwardly lazy, but she wanted to do something with her life other than reading magazines all day. He was sure of it. Artist by day, couch potato by night, maybe.

Alex squirmed uncomfortably, fiddling with the tassels on her graduation cap. "Well…yeah…"

Justin smiled understandingly. "Doesn't sound like it. So why aren't _you_ going to college right away?"

"I'm just following my big brother's footsteps," she shot him a devilish grin, knowing her answer would surprise him.

Justin frowned as his grip on the laptop slipped again. He steadied it before giving her a curious look. "Really?" If she wasn't kidding, then wow, he was kind of touched.

"Uh-huh," Alex confirmed. "In fact, you should try for another nerdy school…one that places a little more emphasis on the arts. So I have a chance of getting in."

Justin let out a short laugh of disbelief. "But why would you want to go to the same college as me?"

"Well first of all, it would be a great opportunity to continue to make your life miserable," she said, doodling on a scrap of paper that had been lying on the coffee table. "And second of all…nope, that's the only reason."

"Ah," Justin commented lightly, opening his computer again. Typical Alex, she was just messing with him the whole time.

"Kay later," Alex suddenly said, jumping up. "I have to go brag about me passing high school," she explained cheerfully.

"Have fun with that," Justin answered. He turned to look at her, but she had already left the room. He spotted the scrap of paper on the couch that she had left behind. "Alex!" He hollered. "You forgot your paper here!"

"It's for you," she called from the other room. "Now quiet, I'm trying to convince Dad that my diploma is real!"

He shook his head and grinned, opening the piece of paper.

_And second of all, I'd really miss you_.

Justin couldn't stop the warm feeling that flooded his chest. He pocketed the note carefully, positively beaming. This didn't belong in his college file; this belonged in his memory box. He closed the MIT tab and googled Columbia. He vaguely remembered reading something about their arts program…

He gazed at his laptop absently, feeling content. Every once in a while, Alex would give him a small reminder that she really did appreciate him. He hadn't realized how much he had needed it though.

He made a mental note to help her organize her portfolio so that Columbia would seriously consider her. Apparently, her grades were pretty good now, so she really had a shot.

He smiled brightly and began outlining a detailed guide for their respective college careers. He would plan things in a way that would allow them to take their next step…together.

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><p><strong>AN: **Finished. It's not very long and it's mostly dialogue, but it solidifies the whole Justin at home situation. I of course don't mind that he's still around, but it would have been nice for the show to give an explicit explanation, or at least hint that he's taking classes or something. Haha, that's always kind of bugged me!

Anyways, hope you liked this! As always, please review. :)

Oh, and for those following **Destination Italia **- I will be updating sometime this weekend, so keep an eye out. You'll find out if Alex gets Justin and her stuck in jail or not. ;)


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